Steering device for tandem bicycles.



No. 29,335. Patafited July 25,1899;

. r. L. BRYANT. I

STEERING DEVICE FUR TANDEM BICYGLES.

(Application filed May 20, 1898.)

g (No Modei.)

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'YHFRED" n. taming ofri onicaeo f ILLINOIS.

f 7 STE 'ERLN GIDEVICE'FQREANDermfslcvcitesf- '1 it srnctnfcn'rio Be it known that LFRED L. sens al-iii:

zen f theUnited States, residing at: Chicago, inithe county'of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Steering-Devices for Tandem I Bicycles, of whichthefollowingisafull,clear, concise, and exactdescription, reference be.- ing had to the accompanyin g drawings, form- 1c ing a part of this speoification.

My invention relates to a steering device for tandem bicycles/my object being to provide an improved form of steering connection 7 between the front and rearsteering-postsof a tandem bicycle. I

It has been the practice tovprovide upon the lower end of the-rear steering-post a sprocket-pinion with which a short chain eugages, the ends of. the chain being connected with rods which extend forward and are connected with the forward steering-post, the forward ends of each rod being usually connected with laterally-extendingarms carried upon the front steering-post, between the fork thereof and the lower end of the tubing of the bi- 3 5 to provide a construction which will overcome this objection, and in accordance tlierewith,

- the sprocket-pinion, which is mounted upon the lower end of the rear steeringrpost, is profvided with a series of teeth which liein a 40 plane oblique tothe plane of rotation of the pinion, whereby the chainand the teeth of the pinion may be placed in substantially the same plane. As the movement or partial rotation of the rear steering-post'is necessarily 5 quite small, the movement does not serve to materially move the teeth out of the plane of the chain, and in consequence the chain is; al ways in 'substantially the same 'plane'as the" teeth of the pinion, and hence there is no 5o tendencyifor' it to be throwntherefroimand,

f-nrthermore, the wear-and lateral strain upon the teeth and the chain are avoided. V

",companyingdrawings,in which-.- I Figurel is a'view illustrating a portion of the'frame of a bicycle embodying my invenagainst rotation by a pair of pins fla h.

tha illustrates niy i'nyention in tion. Fig. 2ris a sectional view of the sprocketof ra es Patent370. 629335,decade 1525, 399, 1,

theac- T Y- pinion and the lower end of therearsteeringpost.- Fig. 3 is a plan fview of the sprocketpinion; Fig. 4 is a side viewthereof. is a sectional view of the frontsteering-post. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the laterally-extending'arms provided upon the front steeringpost. Fig. 7 is a side view thereof.

Like letters refer to like parts in the several figures. V

The front steering-post ct is journaledwithin the front tube 1) of the-frame, while the rear steering post c .is journaled within the tube b of the machine. Upon the lower end of the rear steering-post c is mounted a pinion d, carrying upon the periphery a series of teeth 61' d, which rest ina planeobliqueto the plane of the huband the plane of rotation thereofthat is, the rowof teeth on the periphery of, the wheel-body lies in a course which is oblique to the planeofrotation of the wheel. "The teeth are preferably pro- V vided only upon the sides and rear of the pinion and are omitted in front, since the partial rotation of the pinion is necessarily small and this'partially-toothed pinion is adequate for the purpose. In'practiceI' have preferably screwed the hub of the pinion (1 upon the threaded end of thesteering-post c and maintain the sanie in position by a check-nut e. A- sprocket-chain f engages the teeth of the pinion and is connected-at the opposite ends with a pair of rods g g, the forward ends of t which are pivoted, respectively; to the arms h.

h carried u on a collar 71, secured to the p front steering-post a. As shown moreclearl y in Fig. 6, the collar h rest-s against a shoulder on the steering post a and is maintained The arms h 72 as shown more clearly in Fig. 7, are bent'into an angular position, so as to lie in the plane of the rods g 9' By this construction the connecting-rodsg g' thechain f, and the teeth of the pinion all lie in acornmon plane, and asthe steering-posts are ro-' tatedthrough a very small angle during the running of the machine theplane of the teeth V r is notmaterially moved out of the plane of the sprocket-chain, and in consequence there is no tendency to throw the syn'ocket-chain from the pinion or to cause the same to bind or to subject the sauce to undesirable wear or strain.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a sprocket-wheel provided upon the periphery with a series of teeth lying'in a plane oblique to the plane of rotation thereof, of a sprocket-chain engaging said teeth and adapted to lie substantially in the plane thereof, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the rear steering- Witnesses:

OHAs. L. AMEs, W. CLYDE JONES. 

